Housewife Gone Wild

Chapter 24

Wendy made me a nutritious breakfast. I was halfway through my meal when Yvonne came bounding in. “Mom, you’re not going to work today,” she declared. “You have to stay home and play with me.”

I looked at her while spooning my gruel. “From now on, I will be going back to work,” I said. “But we’ll sign you up for some fun classes–you’ll have teachers and classmates to keep you company.”

Yvonne’s face paled at the mention of classes. In an instant, she was pointing at me, her voice rising to a wail. “I don’t want classes. You’re mean. I hate you. I’m telling Grandma.” She turned and ran toward the door to find her grandmother.

“Come back,” I commanded, my voice icy. “Go ahead–try telling on me.”

Yvonne’s face was still wet with crocodile tears. She turned to look at me, her eyes wide–almost like she was seeing me for the first time. And for just a second, I caught a flicker of fear.

and fixed her with a cold stare. “Yvonne, I’m your mother. I brought you into this world. You

you’d rather have a different mother, go ask your father. I won’t stand

a pause, she inched closer, clutching my arm. “Mom, I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I

It hurt to remember how, in my previous life, she’d still been taking Tracy’s side even when she

that I was my own worst enemy, dragging everyone down with my

how to fix it. All I wanted was to raise a child who might one day

It encouraged us to offer support rather than impose limitations, to foster happiness instead of hardship, and

these new ideas and how we were raised, it became exhausting to

play. I’ve got work soon.” Rubbing my temples, I nudged

night before–love bites scattered down my neck and back.

a single one. Why should I? A little